Judge Dismisses Charges Against Katrina Leung

A federal judge in California has thrown out the criminal charges against Republican activist and fundraiser Katrina Leung, accused of being a double agent for the U.S. and China.

District Judge Florence Marie Cooper dismissed the case for prosecutorial misconduct, finding that the government had purposely made sure that Katrina Leung, a socialite with extensive China contacts, would not have access to her former lover, James J. Smith, for information regarding her case.

Smith, Leung's FBI "handler" for many years, has pleaded guilty to a single count of making a false statement about the affair and agreed to cooperate with the government. He had been accused of mishandling classified material and allowing it to fall into Leung's hands.

Leung, of the Los Angeles suburb of San Marino, allegedly took the documents from his briefcase. She was not accused of transmitting them to China.

The Judge found the Government engaged in a "pattern of stonewalling entirely unbecoming to a prosecuting agency." Congratulations to Janet Levine and John Vandevelde, who did an outstanding job representing Ms. Leung.

That's a great ruling. It takes a lot for a judge to find prosecutorial misconduct. Of course you have to wonder how many times these prosecutors engaged in the same tactics before the advent of email.
B

Outrageous! And of course the news comes out on a Friday as well. I've been following this case and there was a good deal of circumstantial evidence involving Ms. Leung, way more than the "Al Gore/Chinese contributions" scandal. Guess we now know how the Plaime investigation will turn out. Is the Whitewater Special Council Office still open? IOKIFYAR...

It is so unfortunate that this judicial action, however well-considered, will inevitably give rise to still more hundreds of high-profile "media exposes," shamelessly peddling "Red menace" and "Yellow peril," and highlighting the Republican Party credentials of all these spies and traitors.
Just like all the many hundreds they've run so far.
I'm sick of the numerous exposes of Republican malfeasance centered around Ms. Leung.
Have you ever seen even one? Just like Whitewater, ain't it.